Damper assembly for use with an air conditioning system

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for regulating air flow through a housing is disclosed. A damper assembly including a bowed leaf spring is provided such that the leaf spring contacts the edge of the damper to secure the damper in position. The combination arrangement is utilized to either regulate the flow of air being discharged from the unit or to divert air between multiple outlets in the housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to a damper assembly for diverting aflow of gaseous medium. More specifically, this invention relates to adamper assembly including a flexible leaf spring for securing the damperin various positions, said damper regulating the flow of conditioned airto various outlets.

2. Prior Art

Air conditioning units which are commonly used for light commercialapplications such as hotels, dormitories and office buildings often areof the type known as a packaged terminal air conditioning unit. Thesepackaged terminal air conditioners extend through the wall of theenclosure and normally have a condensing section located for dischargingheat energy to the ambient sink of the atmosphere and an evaporatorsection located within the enclosure wherein air in the enclosure may beconditioned.

These units are usually spaced along an exterior wall of the enclosureto be conditioned located within a specific sub-enclosure therein.Oftentimes it is desirable to treat the air in more than onesub-enclosure utilizing a single packaged terminal air conditioningunit. To accomplish this, an adapter has been developed which may beinserted into the normal air discharge flow path of the packagedterminal air conditioning unit. This adapter has a damper assembly fordirecting a portion of the conditioned air into the room orsub-enclosure containing the packaged terminal air conditioning unit andfor directing a portion of the conditioned air through an outlet in theadapter to a duct assembly for discharging that air into a separatesub-enclosure.

The damper assembly hereinafter described is suitable for use in anadapter to regulate the flow of air being discharged from the unit tothe various sub-enclosures. This damper assembly has other applicationsto various air flow situations wherein it is desirable to either limitthe flow of air through a particular duct or to divert that flow betweenvarious outlets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a damper assembly forregulating the flow of air.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a pivotallymounted damper which may be positioned by contact with a flexiblespring.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a combinationflexible spring and damper assembly for regulating air flow through ahousing.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a safe,economical, reliable and easy to manufacture damper assembly which maybe utilized in numerous applications.

Other objects will be apparent from the description to follow and theappended claims.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the aboveobjects are achieved by the provision of housing defining an air flowpath. The housing has walls which define both an inlet and at least oneoutlet. The damper is pivotally mounted to control air flow to theoutlet. A flexible spring is secured to extend between two walls of thehousing. The spring is assembled under tension such that it is bowed inan arcuate configuration similar to the path of rotation of the edge ofthe damper. The configuration allows the edge of the damper toconstantly maintain a frictional contact with the spring. Hence when thedamper is rotated to a selected position, the frictional force providedby the spring against the damper acts to secure the damper in thatposition. A bracket for securing one end of the spring and a walljunction for securing the other end of the spring are additionallydisclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a packaged terminal air conditioning unithaving an adapter and a duct extension such that conditioned air may bedischarged from two outlets.

FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away isometric view of a packaged terminal airconditioning unit showing the internal air flow path.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the adapter taken along line III--III as shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of that portion of the adapter having thedamper assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The embodiment hereafter described will be detailed in reference to aspecific application with a packaged terminal air conditioning unit. Itis to be understood that this damper assembly has like applicability toall types of air conditioning units and in general to the regulation ofan air flow stream through a housing. The application of this damperassembly is not limited to air conditioning units or even to air as thegaseous media flowing therethrough.

Additionally as described herein, the damper assembly will act to divertair between one of two outlets from the housing. Dampers of this naturemay also be used to simply regulate the volume of air flow through asingle outlet. The description of the herein invention in reference toan embodiment regulating flow between two outlets is not intended tolimit this application.

Referring now to the drawings, there may be seen in FIG. 1, a packagedterminal air conditioning unit having an adapter and a duct extensionfor use in supplying conditioned air to multiple sub-enclosures. An airconditioning unit 10 is shown having a front cover 12, side wall 16 andcontrol door 14. The control door is mounted to cover the controls forregulating the operation of the unit.

Although not shown, adapter 18 is inserted into the air dischargeopening of the unit when it is desired to provide conditioned air formore than one enclosure from a single unit. As shown in FIG. 1, theadapter is mounted to the unit and discharge grille 20 is mounted at thetop of the adapter such that a portion of the air discharged from unit10 is discharged through grille 20. Duct extension 30 is mounted at theend of adapter 18 and has register 32 mounted at the end of the ductextension. When assembled, register 30 will normally be in an adjacentsub-enclosure such that conditioned air may be discharged from dischargegrille 20 into one sub-enclosure and from register 32 into a separatesub-enclosure.

FIG. 2 shows the internal components of packaged terminal airconditioning unit 10 such that the internal air flow thereof may beseen. Discharge grille 20 is shown mounted in FIG. 2 above and forwardof the evaporator 40. The unit as shown in FIG. 2 without the adapterdischarges the conditioned air through discharge grille 20 only.

Evaporator fan 46 acts to draw air from the enclosure into the unitthrough the bottom thereof. This air is discharged from the evaporatorfan and travels behind evaporator 40. The air then flows through theevaporator toward the front of the unit and is discharged through thetop of the unit at discharge grille 20. Partition 44 is shown dividingthe unit into an indoor section having an evaporator and an evaporatorfan and an outdoor section wherein condenser 42 is located. This unit isnormally mounted such that the outdoor section is in communication withambient air and the indoor section is in communication with the air ofthe enclosure. The compressor for this unit, although not shown, isusually mounted in the outdoor section.

It is to be understood that adapter 18 as shown in FIG. 1 is mounted tothe unit at the opening covered by discharge grille 20 as shown in FIG.2 such that the air being discharged upwardly from the evaporator isdischarged into adapter 18 rather than discharged outwardly throughgrille 20.

FIGS. 3 and 4 disclose the internal details of adapter 18. FIG. 3 is anisometric view of the adapter. FIG. 4 is an end view portion of theadapter showing the damper assembly. The adapter 18 is shown having afront wall 54, a back wall 56, a top wall 81 and an end wall 83.Connected to front wall 54 is front lip 60 which is adapted to helpsecure the adapter to the air conditioning unit. Back wall 56 likewisehas back ledge 62 and back flange 64 for securing the adapter to theunit. End walls 83, although not readily seen, have an opening in one ofsame such that duct extension 30, as shown in FIG. 2, may be connectedthereto. Usually, one cover and one opening are provided with theadapter such that the duct extension may extend from either end thereofand the opening in the other end is closed by the cover. Inlet 100 atthe bottom of the housing receives conditioned air from the unit andoutlet 90 at the top of the unit is adapted to discharge said airtogether with a duct opening.

It can be seen that grille support lip 59 is provided about the top ofthe unit. It is in this location that discharge grille 20 may belocated. This unit is designed such that grille 20 as shown in FIG. 2,for discharging air into the enclosure may be located at the top of theadapter to serve the same function. Pivot support 55 is shown having apivot rod cradle opening 57 to provide a rotational support for damperpivot rod 53 upon which damper 52 is mounted. The supports are providedat both ends of the damper such that the damper is pivotally mountedrelative thereto. Damper 52 is formed having damper body 51 and angledtherefrom damper extension 61.

The means for securing the damper in position include spring 50 andspring bracket 70. Spring bracket 70 has mounting portion 71 foraffixing the spring bracket to the back wall 56 of the unit. Springbracket 70 also includes extension 73 and support 77 which defines aslot 75 for the receipt of the spring. One end of the flexible spring islocated such that it extends through slot 75 in support 77 and abutsagainst back wall 56. The other end of the spring extends into thejunction formed by front wall 54 and top wall 81. The interior angle ofthis junction forms an area in which the spring is retained from movingin either an outward or upward direction.

As can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the length of the spring is greaterthan the straight line distance from the junction of the top wall andside walls to spring bracket 70. Since this spring is of greater lengththan the straight line distance, the spring is bowed. This bowing of thespring creates an internal force which acts to secure the end of thespring in the junction formed by top wall 81 and front wall 54. Thisinternal force acts to push the spring upwardly and outwardly, the twodirections which the spring is confined by the two walls.

The bow in the spring also acts to place the spring in a position whichsomewhat follows the path of rotation of the end of damper 52. As damper52 is rotated from a fully open position, as shown in FIG. 3, to a fullyclosed position, indicated as 52A in FIG. 3, the end of the damperextension follows an arcuate path. The damper extension continuallycontacts flexible spring 50 such that a frictional force is impartedbetween the two acting to secure the damper in a position to which it ismanually rotated. The rotation of the damper acts to flex the springsuch that the spring may be additionally displaced further acting tosecure the damper in a position. The slip fit engagement of one end ofthe spring with support 77 acts to allow some displacement of the springwhile maintaining the spring secured at the spring bracket.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the damper is in the fully closedposition the damper body covers the outlet formed by the grille supportlips such that air flow through that opening is substantially reduced.In the fully open position, damper 52 does not impede air flow throughoutlet 90 such that air flowing through the housing is dischargedthrough outlet 90.

The outlet connected to the duct extension is located in a wall at rightangles to outlet 90 at the top of the unit. The air flow resistance ofthe air being discharged to the duct extension is greater than the airflow resistance of the air being discharged out the top of the unit.Hence, when the damper is in a fully open position air flow will beprimarily out the top of the unit and there will be little air flowthrough the duct extension. As the damper is rotated to further impedeair flow to the top of the unit then air will be directed through theduct extension to the adjacent sub-enclosure. By positioning the damperit is possible to regulate the relative air flow through the dischargegrille 20 to the enclosure and through duct extension 30 to the adjacentsub-enclosure.

It is to be understood that the herein invention, although disclosed fordirecting air between multiple outlets of a single enclosure, it islikewise applicable to applications wherein the air discharged through asingle outlet is regulated by a damper. Additionally, the springarrangement as shown herein is used to secure the damper in a positionto which the damper has been manually placed. This spring assembly wouldhave equal application to maintaining a damper from vibrating in an airstream in a motor powered damper arrangement.

The invention herein has been described in reference to a particularembodiment. It is to be understood that variations and modifications maybe effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:
 1. A device for directing the flow of a gaseous medium whichcomprises:a housing having an inlet and at least one outlet, said devicedefining a medium flow path from the inlet to the outlet; a pivotallymounted damper located to obstruct the medium flow path, said damperbeing rotated between various positions to effect differing impedimentsto medium flow along said path; and means for securing the damper in apreselected position including a flexible leaf spring mounted tofrictionally engage the damper such that an edge of the damper contactsthe spring to maintain the damper in position, said leaf spring beingfrictionally engaged at both ends in an arcuate configuration such thatan edge of the damper contacts the spring continually as the damper isrotated between positions.
 2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1wherein the damper is mounted to regulate medium flow through the outletof the housing, said damper having a damper body portion for blockingthe housing outlet and a damper extension portion angled from the damperbody portion, said damper extension portion contacting the flexiblespring.
 3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the housing hasa first wall and a second wall angled therefrom forming a junction, athird wall spaced from the first and wherein the means for securing thedamper includes mounting means affixed to the third wall for slidablyengaging an end portion of the spring, the opposite end of said springbeing secured within the interior angle of the junction formed by thefirst and second walls.
 4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 3 whereinthe mounting means includes a bracket having a support spaced from thethird wall, said support defining a slot through which the spring isinserted and means for affixing the support to the third wall.
 5. Theapparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the housing has a secondoutlet, said damper acting to impede the medium flow path to the firstoutlet to direct a portion of said medium along a second flow path tothe second outlet.
 6. Apparatus associated with an air conditioningsystem for directing a stream of conditioned air which comprises:ahousing having an inlet for receiving conditioned air, a first outletfor discharging conditioned air, and a second outlet for dischargingconditioned air; a damper mounted for pivotal rotation relative to thehousing, said damper being located between the inlet and first outlet ofthe housing such that the damper may be positioned to impede conditionedair flow to the first outlet thereby diverting conditioned air flow tothe second outlet; and means for securing the damper in a selectedposition, said means including a flexible leaf spring mounted along thepath of rotation of the damper edge, said leaf spring being frictionallyengaged at both ends in an arcuate configuration such that the springfrictionally engages the edge of the damper continuously along said pathof rotation to secure the damper in a selected position.
 7. Theapparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein the air flow resistance toconditioned air being discharged from the first outlet is less than theair flow resistance to conditioned air being discharged through thesecond outlet whereby upon the damper being placed in a position not toimpede air flow to the first outlet conditioned air flow from thehousing will primarily be through the first outlet and only upon saiddamper being positioned to impede air flow to the first outlet willsignificant conditioned air flow be discharged from the second outlet.8. The apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein the housing has a firstwall which forms a junction with a second wall and a third wall spacedfrom the first wall; wherein the means for securing the damper includesa bracket mounted to the third wall said bracket having a supportdefining a slot for securing one end of the spring; and wherein theother end of the spring is secured in the interior space between thejunction of the first wall and the second wall, the spring having alength longer than the distance between the slot in the support and thejunction whereby the spring is flexed upon assembly such that thetension in the spring acts to secure the spring between the support andthe junction and serves to bow the spring into an arcuate configurationsimilar to the path of rotation of the edge of the damper.
 9. Theapparatus as set forth in claim 8 wherein the damper has a damper bodyportion and a damper extension portion, the damper body serving toimpede air flow and the damper extension formed at an angle to thedamper body having an edge contacting the spring to secure the damper inposition.